Should I accept an entreaty to be executor of a will?

boingy

keiran said:

I’ve been asked to be the executor of someone’s will, and I’m unsure whether to accept.

I’m being asked because his only beneficiary lives abroad and there’s no family or suitable person available. I’m being approached as the most “utilitarian” option.

The estate is likely to be complex:

• It will exceed the IHT threshold.

• There is property in the UK and abroad (which could involve cross-border paperwork and tax complications).

• He has around 30 financial and other accounts that would need closing after my obtaining probate.

• He does not want to appoint a solicitor — he wants me to manage the process.

• Presumably I would also be expected to organise the funeral, contact numerous institutions and individuals, dispose of possessions, and sell the UK property. There will no doubt be other tasks.

He has offered me £5,000 for doing this.
While I am capable, I would find the tasks onerous and tedious — and I don’t like doing this type of administrative work even for myself. I also don’t need the money, and the amount feels low given the time and responsibility, with its true value diminishing over the decades (his parents lived into their 90s - he's now 60)

What are my options?
Ideally, I’d prefer not to take this on at all. But if there were a way to do it without resentment — perhaps involving professionals or a more meaningful arrangement — I’d be open to hearing how others have managed similar situations.

Any advice or perspectives appreciated.

If you read this post again you will find you have already answered your own question! You just have to be honest with your friend. If he can't find anyone else to take it on he'll have to appoint a solicitor.

poseidon1

keiran said:

I’ve been asked to be the executor of someone’s will, and I’m unsure whether to accept.

I’m being asked because his only beneficiary lives abroad and there’s no family or suitable person available. I’m being approached as the most “utilitarian” option.

The estate is likely to be complex:

• It will exceed the IHT threshold.

• There is property in the UK and abroad (which could involve cross-border paperwork and tax complications).

• He has around 30 financial and other accounts that would need closing after my obtaining probate.

• He does not want to appoint a solicitor — he wants me to manage the process.

• Presumably I would also be expected to organise the funeral, contact numerous institutions and individuals, dispose of possessions, and sell the UK property. There will no doubt be other tasks.

He has offered me £5,000 for doing this.
While I am capable, I would find the tasks onerous and tedious — and I don’t like doing this type of administrative work even for myself. I also don’t need the money, and the amount feels low given the time and responsibility, with its true value diminishing over the decades (his parents lived into their 90s - he's now 60)

What are my options?
Ideally, I’d prefer not to take this on at all. But if there were a way to do it without resentment — perhaps involving professionals or a more meaningful arrangement — I’d be open to hearing how others have managed similar situations.

Any advice or perspectives appreciated.

I used to do this kind of cross border work for a living.

From what you have detailed by way of complexity, I personally  would not take on such an onerous responsiblilty, essentially as a favour (£5k remuneration is neither here nor there for all the work and hassle involved). 

Your friend can appoint the foreign resident beneficiary as executor who in turn can delegate executorship to a UK professional.  Not a cheap option, but since it is a sole beneficiary scenario he/ she can determine the value to themselves of allowing a professional lawyer to handle administration of the estate on their behalf rather than taking care of their own business - ie let the beneficary choose.

 Indeed, your acquaintance should probably be using a law firm with cross border estates competency ( ie a firm with STEP qualified lawyers) to draw up the will, and reccomend the beneficary use them to obtain probate when the time comes.

As for your role, if you choose to,  you could agree to assist the beneficiary with funeral arrangements but purely as a friend of the family, with no further involvement in the nuts and bolts aspect of administering the estate, which will undoubtedly be complicated by the foreign assets.

p00hsticks

In your shoes I'd decline the offer, but be grateful that he was polite enough to actually ask you up front.

There must be cases where executors have been completely unaware of the fact that they've been named until after the death of the person involved. They are of course at liberty to formally renounce the position at that point, but it's still better for both parties to have been asked in the first place. 

Marcon

keiran said:

I’ve been asked to be the executor of someone’s will, and I’m unsure whether to accept.

I’m being asked because his only beneficiary lives abroad and there’s no family or suitable person available. I’m being approached as the most “utilitarian” option.

Ideally, I’d prefer not to take this on at all. But if there were a way to do it without resentment — perhaps involving professionals or a more meaningful arrangement — I’d be open to hearing how others have managed similar situations.

I'm always interested in the definition of the word 'friend' when it appears on MSE, particularly on those somewhat dubious 'dilemmas' as well as posts like this.

An executor can be personally liable if anything 'goes wrong'.

The word 'no' is your friend here.

Sea_Shell

Two things.

No one needs the permission of a potential executor to appoint them in their will.  It's polite to ask though.

Secondly, anyone who finds themselves appointed can renounce as long as they do so before"intermeddling".

So let them do what they want, if that will keep the peace, then step away when the time comes.

Exodi

I personally found the idea quite insulting (effectively, they know their estate will be long and arduous to administer, and a solicitor will want a sizeable five figure sum for the work, so the plan is to guilt trip you in to do it for scraps to preserve the beneficiary's inheritance). This is not a small estate, as you say, exceeding IHT threshold and involving multiple properties in the UK and overseas.

What isn't there to like?

The glaring issue that you're the same age (so if he did pass at 90, and you happened to live longer than him, you'd be administering his estate at 90 years old).

Or as kimwp highlighted, the fact that in 30 years, the £5k is likely to lose over half its value in real terms.

Why should there be resentment?

Ask if he fancies painting your house? Your children can't do it because they're busy with life and painters will charge you a fortune. On completion you shall grant him the grand sum of ten great british pounds (and will be very resentful if he dares decline)!

Spendless

I think what you're really asking is how to word your refusal to your friend without causing any resentment (unless you genuinely didn't know that this could be left to a professional to sort).  Accepting No is a sentence that you might not wish to say, I 'd go with something like 'That discussion we had about your will, I had a think and believe it would be far better put in the hands of a professional because of your investments in different countries and also with us being the same age there's no guarantee I'll be capable of it or even here by then' Leave it at that